| 1. |
- Aili, Margareta, et al.
(författare)
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In vitro GAP activity towards RhoA, Rac1 and Cdc42 is not a prerequisite for YopE induced HeLa cell cytotoxicity
- 2003
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Ingår i: Microbial Pathogenesis. - : Elsevier. - 0882-4010 .- 1096-1208. ; 34:6, s. 297-308
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The YopE cytotoxin of Yersinia is an essential virulence determinant that is translocated into the eukaryotic target cell via a plasmid-encoded type III secretion system. YopE possess a GTPase activating protein activity that in vitro has been shown to down regulate RhoA, Rac1, and Cdc42. Translocated YopE induces de-polymerisation of the actin microfilament structure in the eukaryotic cell which results in a rounding up of infected cells described as a cytotoxic effect. Here, we have investigated the importance of different regions of YopE for induction of cytotoxicity and in vitro GAP activity. Sequential removal of the N- and C-terminus of YopE identified the region between amino acids 90 and 215 to be necessary for induction of cytotoxicity. Internal deletions containing the essential arginine at position 144 resulted in a total loss of cytotoxic response. In-frame deletions flanking the arginine finger defined a region important for the cytotoxic effect to amino acids 166–183. Four triple-alanine substitution mutants in this region, YopE166-8A, 169-71A, 175-7A and 178-80A were still able to induce cytotoxicity on HeLa cells although they did not show any in vitro GAP activity towards RhoA, Rac1 or Cdc42. A substitution mutant in position 206-8A showed the same phenotype, ability to induce cytotoxic response but no in vitro GAP activity. We speculate that YopE may have additional unidentified targets within the eukaryotic cell.
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| 2. |
- Jonsson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Subcutaneous implanted chambers in different mouse strains as an animal model to study genetic stability during infection with Lyme disease Borrelia
- 1995
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Ingår i: Microbial Pathogenesis. - : Academic Press. - 0882-4010 .- 1096-1208. ; 18:2, s. 109-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tissue metal net cages were implanted subcutaneously in BALB/cJ and C3H/Tif mice as an experimental model of Borrelia burgdorferi infection. B. burgdorferi sensu stricto strain Sh2-82 could be isolated up to 14 weeks after the inoculation. However, a significant difference in infectivity between the two mice strains was observed. C3H/Tif mice were more susceptible to developing chronic B. burgdorferi s.s. infections than BALB/cJ mice. Although a B. burgdorferi infection was established, no rearrangements in the ospA and ospB genes were observed in any of the infected mice.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Attridge, Stephen, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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Vibrio cholerae O139 capsular polysaccharide confers complement resistance in the absence or presence of antibody yet presents a productive target for cell lysis: implications for detection of bactericidal antibodies.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Microbial pathogenesis. - : Elsevier BV. - 1096-1208 .- 0882-4010. ; 47:6, s. 314-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vibrio cholerae O139 variants with different surface phenotypes have been compared for their resistance to complement and also for their susceptibility to antibody-dependent, complement-mediated bacteriolysis (ACB). While both capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contribute to complement resistance in the absence of antibody, the relative survival of variants expressing only one of these surface polysaccharides reveals CPS to be of much greater significance in this respect. Variants with LPS+/CPS- or LPS-/CPS+ surface phenotypes were both susceptible to ACB, showing that antibody binding to either of the O139 polysaccharides can initiate ACB. Demonstration of the lytic potential of antibodies bound to the capsule is novel and necessitates a revision of the suggested mechanism by which CPS confers partial protection of wild-type V. cholerae O139 against ACB. This finding also raised the possibility that there may be CPS-restricted epitopes which can function as substrates for ACB, which would invalidate the common practice of using unencapsulated O139 variants for estimating bactericidal responses. Since our data did not support this scenario, we evaluated several unencapsulated strains - including variants producing normal or elongated polysaccharide chains, and a hybrid O1/O139 strain - for their utility as indicators of bactericidal antibodies to V. cholerae O139. Our findings support the use of the recently-isolated CIRS134, which ensures reproducible titrations and allows assignment of high lytic titres in assays requiring only 2% complement. However low-level, cross-serogroup lytic activity was detected when CIRS134 was used to assay responses of mice injected with O1 serogroup V. cholerae, suggesting that this indicator should be used with caution when evaluating the immunogenicity of bivalent O1/O139 vaccines.
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| 5. |
- Bang, Charlotte Sahlberg, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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Multiresistant uropathogenic extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli are susceptible to the carbon monoxide releasing molecule-2 (CORM-2).
- 2014
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Ingår i: Microbial Pathogenesis. - London : Elsevier. - 0882-4010 .- 1096-1208. ; 66, s. 29-35
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Carbon monoxide (CO) releasing molecules (CO-RMs) have been shown to inhibit growth of commensal Escherichia coli (E. coli). In the present study we examined the effect of CORM-2 on uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) that produces extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). Viability experiments showed that CORM-2 inhibited the growth of several different ESBL-producing UPEC isolates and that 500 μM CORM-2 had a bactericidal effect within 4 h. The bactericidal effect of CORM-2 was significantly more pronounced than the effect of the antibiotic nitrofurantoin. CORM-2 demonstrated a low level of cytotoxicity in eukaryotic cells (human bladder epithelial cell line 5637) at the concentrations and time-points where the antibacterial effect was obtained. Real-time RT-PCR studies of different virulence genes showed that the expression of capsule group II kpsMT II and serum resistance traT was reduced and that some genes encoding iron acquisition systems were altered by CORM-2. Our results demonstrate that CORM-2 has a fast bactericidal effect against multiresistant ESBL-producing UPEC isolates, and also identify some putative UPEC virulence factors as targets for CORM-2. CO-RMs may be candidate drugs for further studies in the field of finding new therapeutic approaches for treatment of uropathogenic ESBLproducing E. coli.
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| 6. |
- Barathan, Muttiah, et al.
(författare)
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Comparative expression of pro-inflammatory and apoptotic biosignatures in chronic HBV-infected patients with and without liver cirrhosis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Microbial Pathogenesis. - : ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0882-4010 .- 1096-1208. ; 161
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The interplay of immune mediators is paramount to optimal host anti-viral immune responses, especially against chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Here, we investigated the dynamic changes in host immune responses in chronic HBV-infected individuals with and without liver cirrhosis by examining the signatures of apoptosis and plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and cytotoxic proteins. A total of 40 chronic HBV patients with and without liver cirrhosis were studied for plasma levels of immune mediators, and signatures of apoptosis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The intracellular concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in patients with chronic HBV with liver cirrhosis was relatively higher as compared to chronic HBV patients. The onset of apoptosis was sustained due to ongoing liver inflammation in concert with plasma TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels. Plasma VEGF was upregulated among chronic HBV patients with liver cirrhosis, whereas CCL2, CCL5 and granzyme B levels were down-regulated. High levels of ROS, IL-6 and TNF-alpha correlated with ongoing inflammation among chronic HBV patients with liver cirrhosis, which likely attributed to the expression of biosignatures of apoptosis and activation in immune cells.
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| 7. |
- Belibasakis, GN, et al.
(författare)
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Regulation of RANKL and OPG gene expression in human gingival fibroblasts and periodontal ligament cells by Porphyromonas gingivalis : a putative role of the Arg-gingipains
- 2007
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Ingår i: Microbial Pathogenesis. - : Elsevier BV. - 0882-4010 .- 1096-1208. ; 43:1, s. 46-53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Porphyromonas gingivalis is highly implicated in the pathogenesis of periodontitis, which is characterized by the destruction of periodontal connective tissues and the supporting alveolar bone. Receptor Activator of NF-kappaB Ligand (RANKL) stimulates bone resorption, whereas osteoprotegerin (OPG) blocks its action, and this bi-molecular system is implicated in periodontitis. The aim of this work was (a) to investigate the regulation of RANKL and OPG gene expression in human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells and gingival fibroblasts (GF), in response to P. gingivalis culture supernatants, by quantitative real-time PCR and (b) to attempt to identify putative virulence factors involved in this process. The results indicated that P. gingivalis induced RANKL and reduced OPG mRNA expression by the studied cells, resulting in an increased RANKL/OPG expression ratio. Heat-inactivation of P. gingivalis resulted in significant reduction of RANKL mRNA expression. A Lys-gingipain mutant strain did not affect, whereas an Arg-gingipain mutant strain further enhanced RANKL mRNA expression, compared to their parental wild-type strain. In conclusion, P. gingivalis up-regulates the RANKL/OPG expression ratio in GF and PDL cells, denoting an enhanced osteoclastogenic potential by the cells. The component mainly responsible for RANKL induction appears to be proteinaceous, and it may be regulated by the Arg-gingipains.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Chaves-Olarte, Esteban, et al.
(författare)
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A sensor histidine kinase from a plant-endosymbiont bacterium restores the virulence of a mammalian intracellular pathogen
- 2023
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Ingår i: Microbial Pathogenesis. - : Elsevier. - 0882-4010 .- 1096-1208. ; 185
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alphaproteobacteria include organisms living in close association with plants or animals. This interaction relies partly on orthologous two-component regulatory systems (TCS), with sensor and regulator proteins modulating the expression of conserved genes related to symbiosis/virulence. We assessed the ability of the exoS+Sm gene, encoding a sensor protein from the plant endosymbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti to substitute its orthologous bvrS in the related animal/human pathogen Brucella abortus. ExoS phosphorylated the B. abortus regulator BvrR in vitro and in cultured bacteria, showing conserved biological function. Production of ExoS in a B. abortus bvrS mutant reestablished replication in host cells and the capacity to infect mice. Bacterial outer membrane properties, the production of the type IV secretion system VirB, and its transcriptional regulators VjbR and BvrR were restored as compared to parental B. abortus. These results indicate that conserved traits of orthologous TCS from bacteria living in and sensing different environments are sufficient to achieve phenotypic plasticity and support bacterial survival. The knowledge of bacterial genetic networks regulating host interactions allows for an understanding of the subtle differences between symbiosis and parasitism. Rewiring these networks could provide new alternatives to control and prevent bacterial infection.
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| 10. |
- Cobaxin, Mayra, et al.
(författare)
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Expression of Cholera Toxin by El Tor Vibrio cholerae in Shallow Culture Growth Conditions
- 2014
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Ingår i: Microbial Pathogenesis. - : Elsevier BV. - 0882-4010 .- 1096-1208. ; 66, s. 5-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vibrio cholerae O1 classical, El Tor and O139 are the primary biotypes that cause epidemic cholera, and they also express cholera toxin (CT). Although classical V. cholerae produces CT in various settings, the El Tor and O139 strains require specific growth conditions for CT induction, such as the so-called AKI conditions, which consist of growth in static conditions followed by growth under aerobic shaking conditions. However, our group has demonstrated that CT production may also take place in shallow static cultures. How these type of cultures induce CT production has been unclear, but we now report that in shallow culture growth conditions, there is virtual depletion of dissolved oxygen after 2.5 h of growth. Concurrently, during the first three to 4 h, endogenous CO2 accumulates in the media and the pH decreases. These findings may explain CT expression at the molecular level because CT production relies on a regulatory cascade, in which the key regulator AphB may be activated by anaerobiosis and by low pH. AphB activation stimulates TcpP synthesis, which induces ToxT production, and ToxT directly stimulates ctxAB expression, which encodes CT. Importantly, ToxT activity is enhanced by bicarbonate. Therefore, we suggest that in shallow cultures, AphB is activated by initial decreases in oxygen and pH, and subsequently, ToxT is activated by intracellular bicarbonate that has been generated from endogenous CO2. This working model would explain CT production in shallow cultures and, possibly, also in other growth conditions.
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